Circumstances when you got your first Rolex "allocation..."
Hey, all! To those of you who have purchased new Rolexes before, I'm curious if when you got the call/email it happened to be fairly soon after another big purchase, or if it was right after sending a "hey remember me?" sort of message to your AD, or if it was just random and out of the blue? And how long were you on the "list." I know it's not a list in the literal sense of the word, but how long after you expressed interest to your AD until you got your allocation?
I got my call this week for the first time and it was just a few weeks after another big purchase. Just curious about everyone else's experiences.
(Will do separate post after Christmas on what I picked up!)
Thanks!
I'm Patrick - I like watches (of course), boots, jackets, and all sorts of menswear! I have a YouTube channel that I do as a hobby and plan on doing a lot of watch content!
I got my first Rolex in 1986 by walking into
a jewelry store in Atlanta and buying one of the 20 in the display case. A Submariner, if the salesman told me I had to get on a waiting list I’d have told him fools do that at Burger King at lunch hour this ain’t BK and I’m not buying a Whopper.
Almost 4 years and still waiting, to tell you the truth I really don't care anymore. They're so many good brands out there to choose from that are readily available, have better quality and are at a better price. Love my Tudors, Omegas. Currently looking at IWC, JLC and Cartier. Rolex doesn't want my money, no problem 🤣
I got my first Rolex in 1986 by walking into
a jewelry store in Atlanta and buying one of the 20 in the display case. A Submariner, if the salesman told me I had to get on a waiting list I’d have told him fools do that at Burger King at lunch hour this ain’t BK and I’m not buying a Whopper.
Definitely made me laugh. Thanks for sharing!
2018. Went to an AD I’d never been to before to buy an OP39. They had all the colours in stock. Trying them on confirmed the Dark Rhodium was the one for me. This is how it should be. Things had started going weird at that time but they still had in stock any number of Datejusts, Both colour Explorer 2, and a few other odd sports models
Almost 4 years and still waiting, to tell you the truth I really don't care anymore. They're so many good brands out there to choose from that are readily available, have better quality and are at a better price. Love my Tudors, Omegas. Currently looking at IWC, JLC and Cartier. Rolex doesn't want my money, no problem 🤣
Seems to be common for many. Have you bought other stuff from that particular AD? Just curious, not trying to give advice of course. I pretty much gave up too. Picked up a Seamaster, JLC Master Control, and an Oris as well. I agree Rolex ain't the end all be all.
2018. Went to an AD I’d never been to before to buy an OP39. They had all the colours in stock. Trying them on confirmed the Dark Rhodium was the one for me. This is how it should be. Things had started going weird at that time but they still had in stock any number of Datejusts, Both colour Explorer 2, and a few other odd sports models
Very nice! Agreed... Should be this way. 2019 was my watch wearing Renaissance and buy the time I was thinking Rolex we were in this current situation.
Be present, pop in every couple months. While making another purchase explicitly let your SA know what you’re looking for. The more your SA likes you, the greater chance something will come out of the safe, or that they’ll remember you when the one you want arrives. It is not without coincidence I get watches I am looking for after buying other brands or jewelry for my wife, that I would have bought anyway.
Glashutte SeaQ. Look at that model, and when the Rolex wear guy scoffs at your watch you can smirk.
Interesting. Appreciate the story. Perhaps my "allocation" is more of a "we had what you asked for." Hah!
Be present, pop in every couple months. While making another purchase explicitly let your SA know what you’re looking for. The more your SA likes you, the greater chance something will come out of the safe, or that they’ll remember you when the one you want arrives. It is not without coincidence I get watches I am looking for after buying other brands or jewelry for my wife, that I would have bought anyway.
Makes sense. I was sort of similar, except I had to email every few months as I'm about a 90 minute drive from my AD and don't get there too often. Thanks for sharing!
Glashutte SeaQ. Look at that model, and when the Rolex wear guy scoffs at your watch you can smirk.
Yeah, I do like the SeaQ. Lovely watch. Haven't had one on wrist, though.
Seems to be common for many. Have you bought other stuff from that particular AD? Just curious, not trying to give advice of course. I pretty much gave up too. Picked up a Seamaster, JLC Master Control, and an Oris as well. I agree Rolex ain't the end all be all.
Yes sir, so far I've bought 6 watches from the AD. I haven't gotten a Rolex call. He's called me when they get Tudors, and other brands. Same excuse, everything is backordered.
Yes sir, so far I've bought 6 watches from the AD. I haven't gotten a Rolex call. He's called me when they get Tudors, and other brands. Same excuse, everything is backordered.
Wild. Crazy how you can have that experience and DeepCMonkey could walk in and buy a 40mm Explorer. Def sorry to hear that!
Rolex went the way of Ferrari and they both lost. You want to buy a Ferrari then get in line and if you buy this model that you don’t want we will move you up the waiting list. And the buyers of Rolex and Ferrari said screw this no seller of goods is telling a buyer what they demand. There are choices, at the end of the day those two will realize that fact and either change for the buyers benefit or go under.
I bought my first in 2019 by walking in and picking it out of the case. Was a DJ41 so not a super desirable model. My most recent was about a 4 month wait and I had not bought anything from the AD in over 9 months prior. It was an Explorer II. Not bothered at all by the wait. I've asked for the Ti Yachtmaster and it is unlikely I get the call but maybe I do. Still unbothered and very happy with where I am with my collection. Not really any wrist time available either.
Feb 1, 2023. I walked into an AD/Jewelry store I had never been to. Was thinking of buying a Tudor. After trying on the Tudor, she offered me a Rolex Datejust jubilee bracelet (see today’s WRUW). Thought about for 15 minutes (it was more than I thought I’d ever spend on a watch) and bought it.
Ah very nice! Sounds like that was a cool surprise!
I’m not sure my situation will be relatable or not, but here goes…
I live in a relatively small metropolitan area, maybe 500k people in the city limits; give or take. Just trying to give a little perspective.
We have 1 Rolex AD with a 75ish mile radius. Beyond that, there are not other luxury Swiss brands in my immediate area.
Now, I first visited this AD in November 2022. They were just moving on from Omega as the AD and bringing in Tudor. Had a fortunate opportunity to pick up my Seamaster at a discount, right then and there.
I went back in June 2023 to purchase a piece of jewelry for my wife. At the same visit, I asked about the Explorer 1.
After that visit, I bought a few other pieces of jewelry over the summer (July-Aug), without further mention of the Rolex.
AD called me in early Oct to let me know of the allocation, or whatever it’s called.
All in all, about 4 months. But again, my situation could have been very different; given location, model, etc.
Happy hunting.
Awesome, bro! That's a cool story and a very reasonable time span I feel. Congrats on the Explorer! 40mm or 36mm?
Registered my interest in the 36mm Explorer at my local AD (a regional, mid Atlantic jewelry store chain) in early/mid Jan 2023. Got “the call” in early May, so a wait of ~3 and a half months.
I wasn’t given or promised an expected timeframe. There was no suggestion I needed or should spend money on other watches or jewelry. I did mention to the sale rep that took my info I had purchased the Black Bay 58 I was wearing from their store about a year and a half earlier. But no other purchase history with them.
I never went back to the AD, never called, emailed, made a purchase, sent flowers, etc to remind them of my existence or that I really really really wanted the watch.
I was never told I had an allocation. Simply got a phone message from the AD saying they had the watch I was interested in. Called back, asked if I could come get it on Saturday, two days hence, which I did. No big production, no champagne, heck the watch was still in its shipping container and not yet boxed. Got the watch sized, paid for it, and left.
Nice! Sounds very reasonable over all! I've never been told either that I needed to spend any money. All else being equal, I'm sure it doesn't hurt your chances though.
Nice! Sounds very reasonable over all! I've never been told either that I needed to spend any money. All else being equal, I'm sure it doesn't hurt your chances though.
I can't complain. No games, a not unreasonable wait, and I got the watch I wanted. The Explorer had been a grail of sorts for me for years. Anecdotal evidence from WC suggested wait times were coming down, and no way would I pay above retail. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so decided to try my luck so to speak. I figured if I didn't get the Explorer by December of this year I'd use the funds earmarked for it to purchase a Grand Seiko. So the good news is I got the Explorer...the bad news is the Grand Seiko has been pushed off to a date to be determined!
Interesting! I wonder if turning one down really does hurt your future chances from that AD? And did you have a list of watches you wanted that was known to the AD and they offered you something not on the list? Or was it just a random reach out? I'd hope turning down a watch you never said you wanted wouldn't screw you in the long run! Cheers, mate!
Yes, the AD had a list of the watches I wanted. It’s alright, I’m past it. There was a time when I really wanted a Rolex and that time has passed. Onwards and upwards!
Awesome, bro! That's a cool story and a very reasonable time span I feel. Congrats on the Explorer! 40mm or 36mm?
Went with the 36mm - 124270
Got offered an OP Tiffany blue for for my wife after purchasing a couple of IWCs for myself from Shreve. Never asked to be put on the list, so we decided to buy it anyway.
Got offered an OP Tiffany blue for for my wife after purchasing a couple of IWCs for myself from Shreve. Never asked to be put on the list, so we decided to buy it anyway.
Now that's cool. Nice watch for sure.
That's crazy! Such bad customer service there... Might as well just say OK and not put you on a list to avoid offending you. Thx for sharing mate!
It's funny - I hear endlessly how amazing Rolex watches are... but since that slap in the face, I don't really have interest to even learn if I'd love the watch or not.
Yes, I took it personally, so it's partially on me that I think the brand sucks.
One of my work colleagues (a guy who makes ~400k a year and is a newly branded watch collector) got the same f-you treatment from our local Rolex AD, but he was still enamored enough with Rolex that he pushed a friend in Toronto (4000 miles away) with a connection at an AD, to get him on the list for a submariner.
6 months later, he now owns a Starbucks sub. (I think that's the name for it). Here's me trying it on:
(Sidebar explanation: YVR is a weird city with many thousands of immigrants from China (and to a lesser extent India & Russia) who are worth 10s to 100s of millions. So any regular rich Vancouverite is relatively poor compared to the numerous super wealthy new immigrants. Rolex AD here prefers to deal with super wealthy only, so 400k a year is not that wealthy, especially after 45% income tax)
Moral of story - if you really want a Rolex and don't mind jumping through hoops and getting slapped in the face, it's possibly obtainable. I refuse to play the game.
No hate for fellow collectors who love the brand of course 🤝
Wild. Crazy how you can have that experience and DeepCMonkey could walk in and buy a 40mm Explorer. Def sorry to hear that!
When they had some inventory (pre-covid) they had a lot of the fancier rolexes in stock, blinged out, jeweled, precious metals, etc, not my style, but now just demos on display.
4 years!!??!! What model, out of curiosity?
My first 2-3 years I was waiting for the green hulk, later to find out it was discontinued and my AD never told me. I also tried the Pepsi on jubilee, which they were only able to locate an older model. Now I'm waiting for the yachtmaster 42 in titanium.
Wild. Crazy how you can have that experience and DeepCMonkey could walk in and buy a 40mm Explorer. Def sorry to hear that!
It's not only my local.stores which are owned by watches of Switzerland, but we are currently in the Caribbean and I'm also having no luck, in Mexico, Grand Cayman, Virgin Islands, etc. If they have something in stock it's usually a 30k plus watch.
Seems to be common for many. Have you bought other stuff from that particular AD? Just curious, not trying to give advice of course. I pretty much gave up too. Picked up a Seamaster, JLC Master Control, and an Oris as well. I agree Rolex ain't the end all be all.
Yes sir, so far I've bought 6 watches from my ad, (Tudors, Oris, etc) and every time I pick one up, i have him check his waiting list to make sure I'm still on it.
When they had some inventory (pre-covid) they had a lot of the fancier rolexes in stock, blinged out, jeweled, precious metals, etc, not my style, but now just demos on display.
I've definitely heard that a few times... some of the more pricey options remained in stock. Makes sense!
Yes sir, so far I've bought 6 watches from my ad, (Tudors, Oris, etc) and every time I pick one up, i have him check his waiting list to make sure I'm still on it.
Wow, yeah - tough luck for sure. Glad to see you've got a good mix of other interests, though! If I had never ended up getting one I think I'd have been just as happy. Good with, good without. Thanks for all the info an replies, man!